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U.S. District Court rules agencies must disclose names of potential oil and gas drillers

By Kristen Leigh PainterThe Denver Post

Posted:
02/14/2013 03:30:23 PM MST

Updated:
02/14/2013 03:42:35 PM MST

A U.S. District Court in Denver handed down a precedent-setting decision on Wednesday, ruling that the Bureau of Land Management must reveal the names of companies or individuals who are nominating public land for oil and gas drilling.

The order by Judge Richard P. Matsch overturned an 18-year-old policy, ruling that it is unlawful under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to conceal the information.

The ruling comes from the Citizens for a Healthy Community (CHC) vs. United States Department of the Interior and United States Bureau of Land Management court case.

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Matsch wrote in his decision that "competition in bidding advances the purpose of getting a fair price for a lease of publicly owned mineral. Moreover, the identity of the submitter may be relevant to the plaintiff and others who may raise concerns about the stewardship records of that potential owner, a factor relevant to the environmental impact of the proposed sale."

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Prior to this decision, the now-overturned policy allowed the identity of "Expressions of Interest" submitters to remain confidential until after the lease sale.

"This is a victory for everyone who believes the government should do its business in the open, and for everyone trying to protect their community from the severe impacts of oil and gas drilling," said Jim Ramey, director of CHC, in a news release. "The public has a right to know who nominated these leases, and we look forward to receiving that information from the BLM."

BLM spokeswoman Vanessa Lacayo said, "We will take the time to look at (the ruling) and provide a better response once we've reviewed it."

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